Sports stats

FL Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers hit first homer in 22 games, in 5-3 victory

July 7, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


O'Fallon, Mo. -- The Lake Erie Crushers homered for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday evening, as they took the series opener, in a 5-3 victory over the River City Rascals.

The victory for the Crushers (18-25) was their first in four games against the Rascals (23-22) this season, while the loss for River City was their seventh in their last eight games.

While the Crushers took the lead on a pair of two out base hits to score three times in the fifth inning, the long ball was the big story. Turner Gill's first professional hit was a solo homer in the sixth inning, ending a 22-game homerless streak for the Crushers. Prior to Gill's homerun, the Crushers hadn't homered since Joey Burney hit one on June 9th in Rockford, Ill.

The two teams exchanged scoreless frames over the first four innings of the contest, until the Crushers got on the board, thanks to a few clutch base hits. They had Austin Prott on first base with two outs, when Anderson Hidalgo began a string of three straight singles. After Hidalgo's base hit, Jose Barraza went the opposite direction with a RBI single to left to snap a scoreless tie. Joey Burney followed with a two-run single to left, to cap Lake Erie's three-run frame.

After the Crushers snapped their homerless skid on Gill's solo shot in the sixth inning, Hidalgo went deep one inning later, with his third bomb of the season, a solo shot over the wall in right center field to give the Crushers a 5-0 lead.

River City inched closer and closer over the final three innings. Jackson Slaid plated their first run, on a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, and they scratched one more across in the eighth, where they had a chance to do so much more. They began the inning with a pair of hits, putting runners on second and third with nobody out when Trevor Longfellow entered the game, and put out the fire. He walked the first batter he faced, then retired the next three, while allowing just a run to score on a groundout.

In the ninth, the Rascals added one final run, on Curran Redal's two out RBI single. Longfellow injured his groin on the play, and had to leave the game, but Daniel DeSimone (3) came in to replace him, and recorded the final out to secure the victory.

Brad Duffy (5-2) scored the victory in his second start of the season. He tossed five scoreless innings, and allowed just a pair of hits, while fanning five batters in the process. DeSimone recorded the save, his third of the season.

On a night where every Crusher reached safely at least once, Prott led the way with three hits, going 3-for-5 with a run, and has now reached safely in 11 straight games. Juan Sanchez reached on a bunt base hit in his second at bat, and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Hidalgo turned in a multi-hit game for the Crushers, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

The Crushers will continue their three game series with the River City Rascals at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo., on Wednesday night. Right-hander Rob Blanc (0-3, 2.78) will start for the Crushers and the Rascals will counter with right-hander Joe Scanio (5-4, 3.23). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:35 PM.

The Lake Erie Crushers, the 2009 Frontier League Champions, and 2011 Frontier League Organization of the year, play ball at All Pro Freight Stadium, a 5,000 capacity stadium located in Avon, Ohio. The Frontier League is an independent baseball league with 14 teams operating throughout the Midwest. Season tickets for the 2015 season are on sale now! For more information on tickets, promotions and team news, visit the team website at www.LakeErieCrushers.com or call 440-934-3636.

Check out the Lake Erie Crushers Statistics



Frontier League Stories from July 7, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Lake Erie Crushers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central